In 2015, a friend challenged her to surround herself with new “Circles” of friends. As a result, Jameson has the change she desired.

Today, she has a job, a home and a car that is "paid-in-full."

“I didn’t want to be in poverty anymore," she said. "I didn’t want to suffer, I didn’t want to struggle.”

Jameson credits the transformation to Circles Greenville County. The local Circles is part of Circles USA, a nationwide initiative to help those who are impoverished overcome their situation.

The Greenville chapter, the first in South Carolina, launched in 2015.

Some of those graduates are now entrepreneurs. Some have high-wage jobs. Some are homeowners. They are achieving things they never thought they would, said Sandra Bullock, coordinator of Circles Greenville County.

How does Circles help people?

The program connects the participants, called "leaders," with positive role models to help them prosper. It also assists them with "moving forward funds" for things like gas cards, bus passes, safety shoes for work, a uniform, minor car repairs and small utility bills.

Those funds, usually a one-time emergency assistance, are raised via the program’s annual "Follow Your Dreams Gala," set this year for June 16 at the D&D Banquet Hall.

"We don’t want your not having gas to get to work or school to be an impediment for you not moving forward,” she said. “We don’t enable. We help, assist, and advocate.”

Jameson was among the program’s first group of participants for Circles. She’d been living in temporary housing situations or her car when a friend challenged her to try Circles.

Jameson, whose daughters are now ages 19 and 28, said she wanted to be a better example for her children.

“I wanted them to strive for greater,” Jameson said. “I wanted them to know that when you change your mentality, you can do anything.”

The Circles support system

Jeff Busby heard about plans for Circles Greenville County while attending a Sunday school class at Buncombe Street United Methodist Church. The concept resonated with him.

“I grew up in poverty, but not inner-city poverty,” Busby said. “I grew up on a family dairy farm, but what I always had was a community of people who consistently encouraged me, consistently gave me guidance, consistently gave me good advice and surrounded me in that respect. So much so, and so consistently so, that I completely took it for granted."

Busby believed that was the same for everybody. When he realized that’s not always the case, he saw the value of having a “community of people."

“Nobody’s a lone ranger,” said Busby, who started as a Circles mentor and now is the facilitator of the new batch of others who do the same.

This year, Circles Greenville County was honored for its success stories at the Circles USA international conference in Pittsburgh.

The Circles support system separates the program from others, Jameson said. With Circles, "you know that you’ve got someone you can call before the crisis, you can trust them and they’re going to tell you the truth,” she said.

The impact has led to some unbelievable transformations, Busby said, and the success is not a temporary fix. He has seen someone go from a "near crisis situation" to owning their own business and employing dozens of people within two years.

“This is a program that changes people’s minds, it changes peoples’ vision of what life really can be,” Busby said.

For information about tickets to the Circles Greenville County Annual Gala, email sbullock@sharesc.org or Stella Hill-McBee at shmcbee@sharesc.org.